Work Initiative Project

The Grandparent Autism Network is a volunteer based nonprofit organization that informs grandparents about autism and the medical, educational, legal and social issues that affect their families, in efforts to improve the quality of life for their children and grandchildren.  GAN raises awareness and support for autism

GAN is collaborating with the Regional Center of Orange County and its employment vendors for disabled people, to identify new job opportunities.  Grandparents are ideally suited to assist in this effort.  Our grandchildren will require jobs not currently available in the community and we can be at the forefront of developing new positions for them and for all people with special needs in Orange County. Training program and materials are available for grandparents to participate on several levels in this project.  We can:

• Recommend businesses and corporations to contact anonymously or give permission to use our names as the referral sources
• Make calls to current or former employers, contact companies or businesses we patronize or where we have established relationships
• Accompany professional job vendors to on-site meetings to recruit employers
• Learn how to make personal presentations to prospective employers
• Reinforce, recommend and support companies that already employ people with disabilities
• Raise awareness that employing people with disabilities brings positive benefits to business and the Orange County community
• Request that our city governments and local elected officials have positions available for people with disabilities

Currently local, state and national resources are diminishing for developmentally disabled people.  The Regional Center of Orange County and their vendors are suffering severe budget cutbacks that will drastically impact their delivery of services to clients. This project could significantly increase support for the special needs population and will serve as a model of how a community non-profit organization can collaborate with Regional Centers and other state agencies, to increase support and employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

Documents for Download
Work Initiatives Brochure (PDF)